Hyatt Boycott News

Photos, video of arrests at Boston rally

2010-07-24T14:41:00.001-04:00

The Herald has photos and video of Unite Here Local 26's July 22nd rally in support of the Hyatt 100.

Hyatt Bans Media from 1st Shareholders Meeting

2010-06-17T13:37:00.000-04:00

Over the past year, Hyatt's stock is up 40% and its housekeepers' wages are down 50%. Does this seem fair to you? The latest news is that Hyatt banned journalists from its shareholder meeting. Here's a pretty good segment from (of all places) Fox News. You may have to wait 15 seconds through an ad to see this. Also, here is an article on the protests held outside the meeting.

Several updates on the Hyatt Boycott

2010-04-06T17:22:00.001-04:00

A recent story in Cambridge Day covers Cambridge's April 5th City Council Order in support of the Hyatt 100. Also, earlier this month New England Cable News ran this story on April 2nd about the Hyatt 100 and their situations since August 31st '09. Former Hyatt housekeeper Lucine Williams and Boston Globe Reporter Katie Johnson Chase appear in the story.

It should also be noted that Hyatt Hotels won the Scrooge of the Year award from Jobs with Justice which aptly observed that, "While workers get the short end of the stick, Hyatt and its owners enjoyed a $1 billion pay day on November 5 when they cashed in on the initial public offering of Hyatt stock."

On March 31st, the Suffolk Journal reported that Suffolk University will no longer use Hyatt to house students, as the school has in two prior years.

Hotel workers' cause deserves our support

2010-01-29T21:54:00.001-05:00

This letter appeared earlier in the week in the San Francisco Chronicle. It was written on behalf of hotel workers in San Francisco, but applies equally to the Hyatt 100 of Boston:

"While Wall Street was busy shelling out billions in executive bonuses, two local CEOs wrote in these pages ("Hotel labor stand hurts us all," Open Forum, Jan. 13) against a group of workers who are fighting back against corporate efforts to slash health care coverage and other basic benefits. Attitudes like this are deeply disturbing to us, and should be to all members of our community. We believe that people and their well-being should come before profits."

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/01/25/EDVM1BN9UV.DTL#ixzz0e3o0gD5T

Duipattie Junga, "Hyatt 100" housekeeper

2010-01-16T21:26:00.000-05:00

Rabbi delegation petitions Hyatt to rehire Boston Housekeepers

2010-01-08T22:07:00.000-05:00

From the Chicago Tribune...
"Hyatt hasn't just insulted their workers, they've insulted the Torah, say more than 200 rabbis and cantors across the country who've signed a petition calling on the Chicago-based hotel chain to rehire 98 Boston housekeepers who were fired and replaced with cheaper, outsourced labor in August."
link: Rabbi delegation petitions Hyatt to rehire Boston housekeepers - chicagotribune.com

No Comfort at the Hyatt

2010-01-08T19:15:00.001-05:00

From the Boston Globe. Thanks to Union Librarian for sending this link.

"PASSAGES FROM Deuteronomy (“You shall not abuse a needy and destitute laborer’’) are about to rain down on executives of the Hyatt Hotels Corp., who stubbornly refuse to rehire 98 housekeepers fired in August."

link: No comfort at the Hyatt - The Boston Globe

Great article in MIT's The Tech newspaper on 11/17

2009-11-27T16:22:00.001-05:00

"In order for a boycott to be effective, the Hyatt must know that you choose to avoid it because of how they have treated their workers."

link: MIT’s Obligation to the Hyatt’s Workers - The Tech

News coverage of vigil held for Hyatt 100

2009-11-25T11:39:00.001-05:00

Resolution from the Progressive Librarians Guild

2009-10-15T06:43:00.001-04:00

October 14, 2009

Progressive Librarians Guild opposes the actions of the Hyatt
Company

Be it hereby resolved that the Progressive Librarians Guild
opposes the actions of the Hyatt Company for its mass firing of
housekeepers in Boston and Cambridge. We also oppose the
actions of the Hyatt Company for having regular employees train
temporary employees to cover for regular employees' vacations,
then use those newly trained temporary employees to
permanently replace the regular employees.

We urge all librarians to avoid using Hyatt facilities during the
2010 Midwinter Meeting of the American Library Association.

Approved by the Progressive Librarians Guild. Coordinating
Committee. October 14, 2009.

http://libr.org/plg/boycotthyatt.php

Edit30 Analysis of Hyatt Boycott

2009-10-10T22:54:00.001-04:00

Edit30 has a two-part analysis of how Hyatt has shot its brand in the foot, and what Hyatt's communications consultants might try next. However, in this case the simplest recommendation is the best: Hyatt should apologize and rehire those housekeepers.

Part 1 - Hyatt PR gaffe goes viral, global

Part 2 - Hyatt: Managing the Boston aftermath

From the article (pt 2):

"Then, of course, there is the issue of addressing employees’ concerns and bolstering morale. The “they’re just employees” attitude won’t cut it, especially now. This is a serious area in which Hyatt has previously fallen short, in Boston as well as elsewhere."

South shore boycott news

2009-10-07T17:15:00.000-04:00

Nancy Reardon at the Patriot Ledger reports that the South Shore Democratic Caucus (representing the Democratic committees of 8 South Shore towns) unanimously approved a resolution in support of a Hyatt boycott. Towns represented are: Weymouth, Duxbury, Hingham, Cohasset, Hull, Scituate, Marshfield and Norwell. Source article.

Hyatt's IPO

2009-10-02T19:10:00.006-04:00

Hyatt has filed its IPO, visible online here through the SEC. It will take awhile to go through the whole thing. As one initial note, here's what Hyatt CEO Mark Hoplamazian would get if fired. For him, financial security is promised in advance, signed into a legal document, and far more than he will ever need to survive. Compare this to the housekeepers who are fighting just to be reinstated at a living wage. Yesterday's rally downtown was a good start, and it was awesome to see the signs people had put up in windows opposite the Hyatt building. We need to keep the pressure on. Please add your name if you haven't already.

"and severance if his employment were terminated by us without cause or by him for good reason prior to a change in control, or by us for any reason within twelve months following a change in control or in contemplation of a change in control, equal to:

** One year base salary;

** Target annual incentive for year of termination multiplied by the percentage payout of his annual incentive in the prior year;

** Pro rata annual incentive for year of termination equal to his target for such year multiplied by the percentage payout of his annual incentive for the prior year; and

** Full vesting of his SARs and RSUs granted in 2006."

Too long for the main page, from Culver City, CA

2009-10-02T17:20:00.000-04:00

This signature came in from Eric C. Jacobson, Public Interest Lawyer in Culver City, CA. It was too long for the main page and is posted here in full.

Extreme inequality is to the 21st century what slavery was to the 19th century: the preeminent moral and political crisis of our time. In the 1850s the issue was whether the morally evil institution of slavery would be allowed to expand continent-wide. Today the issue is whether the moral blight (in a nation of persons created equal) of already extreme inequality will be allowed to get any worse. We need a Constitutional Amendment to ban any action (such as this one by Hyatt) that worsens already extreme inequality one iota. We new extreme inequality abolitionists first need to stop it (class stratification) from worsening, then gradually lessen it to a reasonable gap appropriate to a healthy social democratic society. (We can debate what the maximum ratio of rich to poor should be.) To accomplish our goals, we need to found a new (near single issue) pro-equality political party. The completely sold out and kaput Democratic Party must be sent the way of the Whigs as soon as possible, and the way paved for a new Abraham Lincoln.

Huge rally turnout in Boston

2009-10-01T20:48:00.003-04:00

Sorry, not much space on the camera's video card, so this video is only 20 or 30 seconds long.

State Democratic Committee Resolution

2009-09-30T19:01:00.003-04:00

BlueMassGroup blogger Deborah Sirotkin Butler reports there that the Massachusetts Democratic Party adopted a resolution to no longer use Hyatt facilities.

CNN editorial on Hyatt

2009-09-30T18:33:00.000-04:00

Read David Whitford's full editorial here.

An excerpt:

"... it may be too late to erase quickly the reputational damage. Already Hyatt's Wikipedia entry contains a reference to the incident. Bloggers from The Atlantic and Harvard Business Review have weighed in, unflatteringly. Now comes new pressure on Hyatt board member Penny Pritzker, whose cousin, Tom Pritzker, is chairman, and whose family controls most of the company's stock."

Rally Tomorrow in Boston, ending at the Hyatt Hotel

2009-09-30T18:17:00.004-04:00

More details on the rally can likely be found on the websites of many of the rally sponsors and organizers listed below:

This is a rally in support of good jobs, against corporate greed, and with solidarity for the 98 non-union housekeepers who were lied to, then fired by Hyatt and who are now fighting to be reinstated.

The March will kick off as planned from the Boston Common (across from the State House) at 4:30 PM, we will parade to Verizon (185 Franklin Street) and Bank of America, then march to the Hyatt Hotel for the 5:30 PM rally.

Route (Google Map)

Sponsors: (list in formation); Mass AFL-CIO; Greater Boston Labor Council; Mass. Jobs with Justice; IBEW Local 2222; IBEW Local 2313; IBEW Local 2321; IBEW Local 2322; IBEW Local 2323; IBEW Local 2324; IBEW Local 2325; CWA Local 1400; CWA District One; AFA-CWA Council 27; Teamsters Local 122; Operating Engineers Local 877; Utility Workers Local 369; UE Northeast Region; UFCW Local 1445; SEIU Local 509; SEIU Local 1199; Laborers Local 22; HERE Local 26; AFT-Massachusetts; Roofers Local 33; Plumbers Local 12; Sprinkler Fitters Local 550; Painters District Council 35; Boston Carmen's Union; Professional Fire Fighters of Mass; Elevator Constructors Local 4; SEIU/NAGE 5000; APWU of Mass, Pipefitters Local 537; Mass. Teachers Association; MOSES; Boston Teachers Union, Mass ACORN; Community Labor United; North Shore Labor Council; Merrimack Valley CLC; Norfolk County Labor Council; Plymouth-Bristol Labor Council; Central MA AFL-CIO; Hampshire/Franklin CLC; Greater Southeastern Mass. CLC; Chelsea Collaborative; Irish Immigration Center; Mass Alliance Against Predatory Lending; Boston DSA; Mass Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice; Lynn Health Task Force; National Jobs for All Coalition; National Lawyers' Guild; AFSC; Mass Transgender Political Coalition; Centro Presente; Mass COSH; IWW; Union of Minority Neighborhoods

Petition signature, too long for main page

2009-09-30T18:02:00.004-04:00

This petition signature came in this afternoon, but was too long for the main page. It's shown in full here.

Robert Campbell, Boston

As disillusioned as a large number of Local 26 Hotel Union workers have been over the past years, I have to say I am proud of the way they have stepped up to stand by these victims of corporate stupidity and greed! As distant as the union has become to its members due to greed of its own, when push comes to shove, they are a strong and unbeatable unit when they apply themselves. The workers are lucky to have them standing side by side against the amazing immorality of Hyatt's decisions. Even if they give the workers their jobs back, they are only doing it out of pressure from the community and not out of respect or righting a wrong. Regardless of what they do now, Hyatt is a dead entity to myself and to everyone I have spoken to. We will continue to spread this story and help dismantle an archaic company. With so much competition, I pray for the workers to start looking for real jobs at businesses that find realistic and moral ways of dealing with economic instability. Short of Firing all management involved in this, Hyatt is dead. This is why we still have unions, whether they have forgotten about their loyal members or not, they pull together when it comes time for a just fight. Thank you Gov. Patrick for stepping up to the plate, but where the hell has Mayor Menino been? I would think it would be in his heart to step up also and protect citizens against corporate abuse... if not in your heart mayor, then perhaps for political reasons, as every vote is earned and not handed due to years of complacency, there is enough of that in Local 26. This will be a great chapter in Hotel management courses in college on how a Corporate machine can be dismantled when they lose site of humanity. God Bless The Fairmont Copley Plaza Hotel who during the toughest times of the recession did everything in their power, and with a great amount of thought and creativity, found ways to cut cost here and their, thought outside of the box to assure top quality care for the guest, but more importantly, protected the jobs of the loyal people.. yes Hyatt... people, not just print on a paycheck, and promised not to layoff but maybe one or two people, because the management at the Fairmont has heart and integrity which keeps some of the best employees in boston providing top notch, caring service. Hyatt management.. listen up.. If your going to act like a machine, bloodless computer.. then surely you understand.. you can only get out what you input... You have hit the "send" button.. and now you have received a well deserved Virus! When the machine crashes due to bad operators,, you not only have to overhaul the machine... but fire the inept operators.. Move on Hyatt... The United States is not for you... but dont give up.. I hear Kadafi is looking for a hotel that will put him up.. who needs more than one Hotel really... Libyan Hyatt Tents inc.... has a nice ring to it. He makes sense like you do... will make a great boss to your hierarchy!

Boston City Countil Passes Hyatt Resolution

2009-09-30T17:15:00.000-04:00

Councilor Ross offered a Resolution supporting the Hyatt Hotel housekeeping staff and their full reinstatement. http://www.cityofboston.gov/cityclerk/rollcall/Default.aspx

Docket #1230

Ciommo

Connolly

Consalvo

Feeney

Flaherty

LaMattina

Linehan

Murphy

Ross

Tobin

Turner

Yancey

Yoon

Boston City Council to Vote on Hyatt Boycott Resolution Wednesday

2009-09-29T18:35:00.001-04:00

The Boston City Council is set to take up this resolution tomorrow to decide whether to join the boycott of Hyatt hotels. Please contact the Boston City Council and urge them to support the resolution. The telephone number is: 617.635.3040

Boston City Council to Vote on Hyatt Boycott Resolution Wednesday

2009-09-29T18:35:00.000-04:00

If Hyatt really needs to save money...

2009-09-28T17:15:00.000-04:00

This came in on the petition page and was a bit too long to fit, but deserves to be shown in full.

Scott Enk, Hales Corner, Wisconsin:

At Boston's Hyatt Hotel, as is the case with so many employers in America's perversely, deliberately job-scarce, low-wage economy created over the last 30 years or so, the prevailing watchword for employees is now "Work hard, and you will be rewarded -- with a pink slip."

What sort of "thinking" do employers like Hyatt in Boston engage in when they lay off their best and most experienced workers in a shortsighted effort to save a few bucks?

If Hyatt really needs to save money, it should start by cutting its top executives' salaries, perks, powers--and egos. And don't forget outsourcing top executives' jobs to cheaper employees--how about to an elected committee of rank-and-file workers? They surely could do a much better job for less money than the pigs on top get. Now *that* would truly be a productive "adjustment of cost structures" and "rightsizing."

*To get loyalty, one must first give loyalty.* By unilaterally shredding the "social contract" that guided employment relations throughout most of America from the New Deal era until the time of Ronald Reagan, greedy, out-of-control employers like Hyatt are continuing not only the destruction of America's middle class, but America itself.

Shame on you, Hyatt. Don't laugh. People in America who believe as I do are everywhere. We are outraged at what we've been seeing happen to our once-beautiful country, our economy, and our living standards, especially since the early 1980s and Ronald Reagan, and even more so under George W. Bush.

Bet on it--we *do* write our lawmakers and the news media, post things like this online, talk with our families, friends, and others, and, above all, *take into account employers' actions when we decide whose products and services we will or won't buy--or recommend*.

Until and unless Hyatt rehires the housekeepers it recently laid off in Boston, with full back pay and seniority, I will do all I lawfully can (1) to avoid doing business with Hyatt and (2) to urge others to consider the facts when making any decision as to hotels.

We, the working people of America, have a right to stable, decent jobs that will not be sacrificed to corporate incompetence and greed.

Let's make Hyatt the ground on which we, America's sovereign workers, finally take our stand and take back our country, our economy, our rights, and our futures.

To Mark S. Hoplamizian and his out-of-touch pals in their comfy executive suites, I say: Got that? Change your ways *now*.

Chicago Hyatt sit-in update

2009-09-27T08:53:00.000-04:00

The Boston workers who were fired were all non-union. Unite Here's action in support of these housekeepers is a credit to the labor movement.

And a print article from Reed Business Information. Please email with any more news.

Business for Social Responsibility group meeting at Hyatt?

2009-09-26T18:02:00.000-04:00

This came up on Twitter yesterday. Think BSR should move the venue for this upcoming event?

http://www.bsr.org/bsrconferences/2009/logistics.cfm

Contact information here.